Mayak Egg Sandos and Misugaru Lattes at Highland Park’s New Korean Café

Mokja opened August 7 at 5715 North Figueroa Street in Highland Park, in the room beside chef Debbie Lee’s modern pocha Yi Cha. Eater LA and Los Angeles Magazine called it a Korean café and market from Lee and Frank and Michelle La of Be Bright Coffee. The name, 먹자, means “let’s eat.” You get quick plates, barista drinks built from Korean pantry powders and syrups, and shelves you can shop after you finish the cup.

In South Korea, a neighborhood convenience store is often where people cook a packet of ramyun, grab a drink, and hang around. Mokja borrows that rhythm without copying a chain store. Architect Kahi Lee, who also designed Yi Cha, fitted about 1,400 square feet with exposed brick, dark wood, a handful of tables, and a standing bar. Lunch fits. So does a bag of banchan or chips for later.

Lee already cooks next door. Frank La, the 2024 U.S. Barista Champion, and Michelle La run Be Bright. The three met at Smorgasburg. Lee has said the Las walked over with a misugaru latte and a welcome, and the friendship stuck. When she locked in the space beside Yi Cha, she asked them to look it over. Frank’s reply, she told Eater, was to ask when they were opening.

Start with the mayak egg sando. Soft-boiled eggs sit in a soy marinade until the whites turn amber and the yolks stay jammy, then land with scallions on thick Out of Thin Air milk bread. Mayak is Korean slang for something addictive; the same nickname follows those soy eggs when they show up over rice as banchan. The board also holds a PBL & T with pork belly, tomato muchim (a seasoned salad), lettuce, and kimchi mayonnaise, plus a Mountain Grain Bowl of purple rice, sesame vegetables, and chojang, the sweet-spicy gochujang dressing. A Cobb with shredded gochujang chicken and herby tofu feta sits nearby. Chef Debbie Min’s musubi comes with Spam or tofu and a sweet soy glaze. Pastry chef Dara Yu sends yuja cha ice box pie and kimchi cheese biscuits.

The build-your-own ramen bar turns the convenience-store habit into a station. Guests pick an instant packet, add toppings like a jammy egg or cheese, and finish the bowl in a few minutes. LAist later reported that the station draws families with kids. The fridge stocks kimchi, banchan, Korean barbecue ssam sets, cold noodles, Lee’s northern-style mandu with pork and shrimp, and ice cream from Servet and 626 Hospitality. You can eat standing up or take dinner home without booking Yi Cha.

Frank’s drinks put the pantry in the cup. Misugaru, or misutgaru, is roasted multi-grain powder traditionally mixed with water or milk. VisitKorea describes steamed or roasted rice and barley ground fine, sometimes with other grains. Mokja’s misugaru latte finishes with misugaru cold foam. An omija sparkler starts with dried five-flavor berries he imports from South Korea, cooked into syrup and topped with sparkling water. Omija is the Korean name for that berry; Eater notes the fruit’s mix of sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and pungent notes. Opening specialties also include a sweet corn latte with corn puree and espresso, a yuja cha lemonade cold brew built on citron tea preserve, and a banana matcha latte with housemade banana syrup and Korean matcha from Hadong. Classic espresso, drip, cold brew, roasted barley tea, and roasted corn tea sit beside them. The shop pours a Be Bright bean blend made for the room.

At Be Bright, Frank has said he often touched Korean and AAPI flavors on special menus without wanting the whole café to read as a Korean concept. Mokja lets him lean in. “I get to lean into it unabashedly,” he told Eater. The specialty board rotates; he was already working on a drink inspired by yakgwa, the honey cookie, at opening. Michelle curated the retail shelves: Be Bright coffee, Korean snacks such as Turtle Chips, and products from AAPI makers including Seoul Sausage, Rooted Fare, Woon Kitchen, and Valerie Confections. Lee told Eater the mix is about younger makers, not only souvenir chips. That shelf is worth the stop even if you already had coffee elsewhere on Figueroa.

A second Mokja is planned for OC Vibe in Anaheim sometime in 2027, where Lee is among the market hall’s early culinary partners. Highland Park keeps the original room for now, open daily from about 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Order the mayak egg sando and a misugaru latte, build a ramyun bowl if the line is kind, then walk the market wall before you leave.